What is ESSA, and why does it matter?
Brief history: The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law in 2015 and replaced No Child Left Behind in 2019. It shifted control from the federal government to the states while maintaining the annual testing infrastructure. The law is the legal and funding backbone of K–12 public education in the U.S.
What exactly does ESSA require schools to test?
Required tests: Annual assessments in reading/ELA and math, grades 3–8, and at least once in high school. Science is tested once in three grade bands. At least 95% of students must participate. States choose their own assessments, but the requirement to measure and report is federal.
Other tests: Assessment systems organically developed within districts to screen, monitor progress, and establish systems of support so students build the skills they need by 3rd grade and beyond.
What does ESSA require schools to do with those results?
Required report cards related to funding streams: States must publish online report cards covering test scores, graduation rates, absenteeism, per-pupil spending, and more. The lowest-performing 5% of Title I schools must receive “comprehensive support.” This accountability pressure is exactly why districts want products that can demonstrate impact on the same measures by which schools are being evaluated.
Other decisions do schools make: the new assessment systems reveal gaps in their instructional toolkits to identify areas of need for professional learning, supplemental products, and related resources.
What does this have to do with how districts buy edtech products?
This is where it connects directly with edtech companies. ESSA’s Title II, Part A funds educator professional development — but only programs and products that meet the law’s definition of “evidence-based,” meaning they demonstrate a statistically significant effect on student outcomes. That’s the same language as ESSA’s four-tier evidence framework. A product with an ESSA evidence certification by well-known non-profit organizations (ISTE+ASCD, Digital Promise, Evidence for ESSA, EduEvidence) becomes eligible for “Title” dollars, which are meaningful federal funding streams related to the percentage of students with economic disadvantage, lack of English proficiency, and students with disabilities, that districts can use to purchase it. Without that credential, the door may simply be closed.
What’s the bottom line for a company trying to sell into K–12?
A concise explanation of why ESSA isn’t just a policy detail — it’s the procurement context. Districts under ESSA accountability pressure are motivated buyers of evidence-backed products, and the law has created a shared vocabulary (the evidence tiers) that functions as a de facto national standard for what “it works” means.